Water toys that shoot a ball into the air or suspend a ball in a stream of water are common. The operation of a traditional water toy fountain is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,785,895. Numerous toys use a single, substantially laminar stream of water to suspend a ball in the air. In such a device, one stream of water exerts an upward force on a ball that is at least equal to the downward force of gravity. Water striking the ball causes a sheet of water to flow around the object, creating another force which keeps the ball constantly spinning on the edge of the stream of water. These various forces combine to keep the ball suspended in the air.
However, such toys have a number of drawbacks. The stream must be substantially laminar. If the stream is not laminar, the ball will not adhere to the stream, but instead will fly off. Additionally, the ball must be rather small, otherwise the upward force of the stream from a garden hose and the centrifugal force from the sheet of water spinning the ball will not be able to counteract gravity. While larger balls could be used, they would require a large, substantially laminar stream, which would require more water and pressure than a traditional garden hose could provide. Thus, traditionally, small balls, about the size of a baseball are used. Being small, the balls can be easily lost, and are more likely to hurt children playing with the toy. Also, the force required from the water stream to counteract gravity and keep the ball suspended is quite great. Accordingly, children can be hurt while playing with such a toy if the forceful stream of water hits them in the face. Lastly, traditional water toys only properly function when the water stream is substantially parallel to the force of gravity, i.e., directly upward. Thus, either a water toy user either must carefully select level ground, or a stake is required so that the water sprayer may be forced to be vertical on ground that is not level.